Blog

18

Dec

The AstroRad – StemRad's space radiation shield – will be launched into space in May 2019 for a round of testing by astronauts on the International Space Station. Then, in 2020, the AstroRad will be launched again for radiation testing on NASA's Orion Exploration Mission-1 [EM-1]. The EM-1 mission is ...

06

Dec

Nightmare Radiation Scenarios – Per the US Department of Homeland Security
A 10-kiloton nuclear bomb detonated in a metropolitan area is one of the Department of Homeland Security’s National Planning Scenarios. Along with a “dirty bomb” (i.e. radiological dispersal device – RDD), a nuclear detonation in a metropolitan area is considered ...

25

Nov

“We cannot expect that the defensive measures we take to prevent terrorists from infiltrating a nuclear device into our country will succeed indefinitely in a world where more and more nations—some reliable, others less so—acquire the capabilities to build the bomb. Like the levees around New Orleans, sooner or later ...

08

Nov

It may not be time to panic but it’s definitely time to prepare. According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, it's now two minutes to midnight – which means that the world has hurtled closer to the possibility of a nuclear or radiological disaster than at any time since ...

31

Oct

“StemRad has answered the challenge of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.”
-Japan Ambassador H.E. Hideo Sato
The military brings the overwhelming capability to help a civilian population cope with humanitarian disasters, as it did during Hurricane Katrina and the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe. Now (for the first time ever) military personnel can be ...

23

Oct

Despite prevention efforts by both the military and internal security agencies, the use of a radiological dispersal device (RDD - commonly referred to as a dirty bomb) by hostile state and non-state actors is widely believed to be just a matter of time. An RDD is composed of relatively easy-to-obtain ...

10

Oct

The expanding nuclear capabilities of both state and non-state actors call for increasing awareness of nuclear personal protective equipment (PPE).
In contrast to the common perception, nuclear PPE is needed not only after detonation of a radiological device. A significant portion of the military's strength is expended towards preventing a nuclear ...

30

Sep

Of all types of radiation, gamma radiation is the most penetrating and energetic. It damages the body by breaking bonds in genetic material and other biological molecules. The body's innate ability to repair such damage can be overwhelmed when exposed to either high doses or low doses over many years.
Thus ...

20

Sep

Terrorists have a two-fold interest in nuclear power plants and nuclear weapon facilities:
1) To obtain radioactive material for the development of a nuclear weapon
2) To cause a core meltdown or set fire to spent fuel pools, thus releasing radiation that would cause numerous fatalities and widespread devastation
Terror organizations have considered ...

12

Sep

From harrowing hurricane scenarios to a simple fire ignited by a single spark, the main concern at nuclear plants is to safeguard the cooling systems, which ensure that safe temperatures are maintained around the nuclear reactor core. Ultimately, any damage to the core raises the specter of a meltdown.
To prevent ...